The vanity of this mortal life, or, Of man, considered only in his present…

How contemptuously should we look upon that empty vanity of being rich? How coldly and carelessly should we pursue; how unconcernedly should we lose any thing that might entitle us to that Name?

How contemptuously should we look upon that empty vanity of being rich? How coldly and carelesly should we pursue; how unconcern'dly should we lose any thing that might intitle us to that Name?

The pursuit of so despicable a trifle, with violent and peremptory desire, so as hereby to suffer a diversion from our design for another world, is to make our eternal hope less than nothing (For to any man's calm and sober thoughts this will be found as little). And so will amount to a total quitting of all our pretensions to a (better) future state; that is, when we so indulge this odd, irrational, this wildly fanciful, and purely humoursome appetite (of which no man can give any tolerable account), that it becomes ravenous, when it devours a man's time, his thoughts, the strength ⟨p. 99⟩and vigour of his spirit, swallows up his nobler designs, and makes an idle doting about he knows not what, or why, his main business.

The pursuit of so d•spicable a trifle, with violent and peremptory desire, so as hereby to suffer a diversion from our design for another world, is to make our eternal hope less than nothing (For to any man's calm and sober thoughts this will be found as little). And so will amount to a total quitting of all our pretensions to a (better) future state; that is, when we so indulge this odd, irrational, this wildly sanciful, and purely humoursome appetite (of which no man can give any tolerable account), that it becomes ravenous, when it devours a man's time, his thoughts, the strength ⟨p. 99⟩and vigour of his spirit, swallows up his nobler designs, and makes an idle doting about he knows not what, or why, his main business.